Lady Cyclones protect win streakALMA — The Russellville Lady Cyclones stayed undefeated and opened 7A/6A-Central Conference play with a 47-38 win over the Alma Airedalettes on Friday despite a few scares early in the game. The Lady Cyclones (12-0, 1-0 7A/6A-Central Conference) took a 10-point lead at the end of the third period but exchanged the lead with the Airedalettes six times in the first half. Alma pulled within six points on a three-point play with 1:08 left in the g...

White family begins tradition at RussellvilleWhen Russellville Lady Cyclones head basketball coach Sherry White took the court at Arkansas Tech University with the Golden Suns in the late 1970s, it was her first time playing five-on-five basketball at a competitive level. That didn’t stop her from setting a scoring record at ATU that wouldn’t be broken until 1994 when Stephanie Strack Mathis set the record at 2,298 points. High school years Before college, White played three-on-three for...

Arkansas State grabs 68-65 OT win over Louisiana-MonroeJONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Nouhoum Bocoum scored four of his 12 points in the extra period to help lead Arkansas State to a 68-65 overtime win over Louisiana-Monroe in Sun Belt Conference action on Thursday night. Bocoum hit a jumper to give the Red Wolves a 65-56 lead with 1:02 left in overtime. Louisiana-Monroe's Majok Deng wrapped two 3-point jumpers around one by Nick Coppola to cut the lead to 66-65 with 14 seconds left. Deng missed his next ...

Tech-ECU info boxes for SaturdayArkansas Tech University’s Great American Conference-leading basketball teams will visit East Central University for a league doubleheader in Ada, Okla., on Saturday, Jan. 9. The Golden Suns assumed sole possession of first place in the GAC women’s basketball standings following their 70-65 win at Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Thursday night. The Wonder Boys earned a share of the GAC men’s basketball lead later that evening by domi...

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Wonder Boys roll past Savage StormDefense and rebounding were the key factors Thursday night in a 91-64 Arkansas Tech University victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Great American Conference men’s basketball at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant, Okla. The Wonder Boys (9-2 overall, 4-1 GAC) limited the Savage Storm to 32 percent shooting from the field and out-rebounded Southeastern 46-35 as they extended their winning streak to eight games. “We knew we would ...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Golden Suns rally down stretch to top SOSUWhen it came down to crunch time at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant, Okla., on Thursday night, nationally 23rd-ranked Arkansas Tech University would not yield. The Golden Suns (7-2 overall, 5-0 Great American Conference) held Southeastern Oklahoma State without a point over the final three minutes of the game to defeat the Savage Storm 70-65. Arkansas Tech scored the final nine points of the game, beginning with a put-back basket by Fatima Ad...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Gators top Danville in 3A-4 conference clashDANVILLE — Two Rivers Lady Gators head coach Lyn Alexander was happy to escape Danville with a 58-53 win over the Little Johns. Alexander said the in-county rivalry was tough every year regardless of team records. “No matter how good or how bad one team is, it’s always a good game,” he said. “Throw the record out the window.” Two Rivers (13-2, 2-0 3A-4 Conference) led from the opening tip. Alexander said the Lady Gators established a “12 or 13...

Goblins too much for CyclonesHARRISON — The Russellville Cyclones were spooked by the Harrison Goblins 57-52 on Tuesday inside Lendell Thomas Gymnasium. The Cyclones trailed 29-22 after the first half after giving up a 17-2 run in the second period. Russellville (8-4) led 11-10 after the first period after K.J. Patrick chipped in six points. The Cyclones led by as many as six points and never trailed in the first period. That changed in the second. The Golden Goblins tied...

Pottsville sweeps Pulaski RobinsonPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Apaches kicked off 2016 with a 51-44 win over the Pulaski Robinson Senators on Tuesday inside George Jones Gymnasium. Pottsville (11-2, 3-0 4A-4 Conference) trailed 18-4 after the first period but were able to battle back for the victory. “We could not have gotten off to a worse start,” Apaches head coach Shane Thurman said. “We were down 18-2 at one point. The boys showed a lot of mental toughness by battling back....

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Lady Rebels dominate Union ChristianFORT SMITH — The Johnson County Westside Lady Rebels returned to form with a 58-16 win over the Union Christian Lady Eagles on Tuesday. The Lady Rebels (13-2) lost 58-41 to the undefeated Russellville Lady Cyclones in the championship game of the 2015 Hoops for Hunger tournament inside Cyclone Arena, but before that, Johnson County Westside defeated several opponents by gaudy scores. The Lady Rebels defeated Hartford 53-17. Before that, they b...

Top 10 sports stories from 2015In the past, to celebrate the new year, The Courier has put together stories from the previous year that we thought were the most important. This year, we used our website (www.couriernews.com) to determine which sports stories truly had the widest reach. These are our top sports stories of 2015, according to user views. No. 10 — Carter’s touchdown Being bound to a wheelchair didn’t stop Carter Roach from scoring a 2-point conversion during a ...

Community photo: Wonder Boys highlightedWonder Boys coach Raymond Monica (right) attended the Russellville Rotary Club and gave an update of the current season and highlighted local players who are making a positive impact on the team. Pictured with Coach Monica is club president Dr. John Krohn.

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Dardanelle second in TournamentOLA — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards took runners-up at the Yell County Tournament on Wednesday after falling to Guy-Perkins 58-57 in the finals. “This was a good week for us,” Dardanelle head coach Russell Sturdivant said after the game. “We didn’t end up winning the tournament, but we took a very good team down to the wire. One more play or break, and we could have given Guy their first loss of the year.” Dardanelle ended the 2015 calender year...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Wildcats finish second in BerryvilleBERRYVILLE — The Hector Lady Wildcats took second on Wednesday in the Berryville Holiday Hoops Tournament with a 47-43 win over Pocahontas. The Lady Wildcats led 9-7 after the first quarter but trailed 17-16 at halftime. After the third quarter the score was tied at 30. Laken Stanek led in scoring with 13 points, while Alyssa Millsaps scored 10 points. Paige Lee scored nine points. Pocahontas was led by Ashlyn Ellis with 17 points. Hector’s ro...

RJHS competes in Van Buren tournamentVAN BUREN — The Russellville Lady Whirlwinds defeated the Siloam Springs Panthers for fifth place in the Van Buren Tournament on Thursday by a score of 35-24. Russellville (8-4) trailed 8-6 after the first quarter and 18-10 at halftime. The Lady Whirlwinds used a third quarter surge to take a 22-19 lead. “We started off very sluggish,” head coach Chase White said. “We challenged the girls to outwork Siloam on both ends of the floor and claw ba...

Lady Rebs impress at Hoops for HungerIf people wondered who the Johnson County Westside Lady Rebels were before the 2015 Hoops for Hunger tournament inside Cylcone Arena, they won’t anymore. The Class 2A Lady Rebels Mercy Ruled the Class 6A Benton Panthers in the opening round of the tournament and defeated the Class 6A Little Rock Parkview Patriots in the semifinals. The little team that could quickly became the little team that would. “No one even knew where we were from,” Lady...

Shameka Ealy dominates tournament, earns MVPWhen Shameka Ealy left the ground for a mid-range jumper, there was little the opposing teams in the 2015 Hoops for Hunger tournament could do besides watch and pray that the shot was a little off the mark. Most of the time — it wasn’t. Ealy finished the opening game of the tournament against Clarksville with 24 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks. Ealy had 27 points, seven rebounds and six blocks in game two against Central Arkansas Christia...

Lady Cyclones win Hoops for HungerThe Johnson County Westside Lady Rebels went toe-to-toe with the Russellville Lady Cyclones in the first half of the championship game of the 2015 Hoops for Hunger tournament, but an 11-0 run by Russellville in the opening moments of the second half put a difference between the teams the Lady Rebels could never recoup. The Lady Cyclones (11-0) stayed undefeated and earned their third tournament championship this year with a 59-45 win over the ...

Cyclones Mercy Rule Greenbrier The Russellville Cyclones mercy ruled the Greenbrier Panthers 57-35 for third place in the 2015 Hoops for Hunger tournament inside Cyclone Arena on Wednesday. Marquis Rhode's free throw with 7:51 left in the game to make it 55-24 kicked off the Mercy Rule. Greenbrier had no answer for the Cyclones offensive onslaught in the fist half. Russellville started with a 4-0 run. The Panthers hit a bucket, but Matt Laws answered with a 3-pointer. Green...